The homestead is awake! It was never really completely sleeping, but we are moving faster now with higher temperatures. We have big plans for the summer and some of them are different from our original plans made last year this time. Although progress was slow over the winter months we did make some. In fact, it was a great learning and growing process. I had time to reflect on many aspects of green building, green living and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects.
Insights
I'd like to share some of my insights with you. They may serve in some capacity to get your brain thinking about the non-technical side of green bulding and remodeling-the much needed mental and emotional preparation. This is hugely important and something I underestimated in spite of my previous remodeling experience. I hope our examples will help you cope, adjust.... as you attempt any level of do-it-yourself project.
1. Be flexible. We started working on our bathroom renovation last year about this time in the hope of having it completed before our wedding (Oct. 13, 2007). This didn't happen for many reasons, but we continued to plug away at it. Over time dealing with leaks and taking showers in our cold basement became second nature. Although not as convenient as having a fully functional bathroom we still had everything we needed. This brings me to my next two insights.
2. Have a sense of humor about your situation. It's great therapy and cheap! We often joked about how fine it would be with both of us if the bathroom was never repaired. We could be perfectly content to just keep our current arrangement. Then we joked about how we were taking more showers at the gym...we refocused on finishing the bathroom.
3. We are culturally different from many in mainstream society. We are not over-consumers. In fact, we under-consume. Hiring a contractor, the cost of updating/remodeling a bathroom (without rewiring) can be $7,000 US or more. Doing everything (including rewiring) except the plumbing ourselves cost about $2,500 US. One of the biggest cost savers was keeping our bathroom the traditional dimensions of 5x8 feet instead of expanding to the current trend of about 10x20 feet. Also, finding an antique bath tub on Main Street with a free sign on it was a recycling inspiration. It looks great in our bathroom!
4. Know what aspects of DIYing you are capable of doing and willing to do. Having too many fixer-upper projects can be overwhelming. Spend some time thinking about your priorities, skills, interests and time availability. In some cases, it may not be worth the extra cost, time, and hassle to do a project yourself. Hence, why we hired out for the plumbing. Neither of us had experience with it and we weren't comfortable taking the risk.
5. Expect the unexpected. When you start a relationship with an old home, there are bound to be surprises. Our biggest surprises were the plumbing and the electrical wiring. The wiring was mostly the old cloth covered wires so we are slowly redoing this. We have lots of small holes in our walls and our skill level with dry wall and plaster has grown exponentially.
6. Turn potentially negative situations into positives. Back in October, we found out the kitchen sink drain pipe was undersized for the job it was required to do. A couple months ago it finally quit. This was initially stressful since the kitchen sink was the only functional sink in the house. However, it gave us an opportunity to experiment with a small and rudimentary grey water system: A bucket! It has been a great way to measure our daily water usage for everything except laundry, showering and toilet flushes.
7. Time. Projects will take more time then you think. In some cases, so much more time. The preparation for any project is really key, but keep in mind the best researcher and planner can overlook something in the process or the supply list. Schedule in extra time for each project just in case you need it and don't be hard on yourself if things don't go according to plan. Be willing to set the project aside and come back to it if you need to.
8. Live in your home for at least a year before you jump into repairs and renovations. Get to know your home, the land, and the seasonal variations. You'll be surprised at the things you discover. In our case, we found out the roof really leaks and the majority of the windows on the south and west (windward) sides of the house let more wind through than they stop. We're still observing, discovering and learning...
9. Celebrate! No matter how small the progress, enjoy it.
The Homestead's Priority Project Update
This is the original list of challenges Greg and I decided to move forward with a year ago and where we are today:
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ORIGINAL PROJECT PLAN |
PROJECT UPDATE |
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Contaminated well |
Newly drilled well with potable water! We upgraded the horsepower of the well pump in anticipation of possible drip irrigation for organic farming, but we hope to use a rain catchment system for this. Total cost $7,000US |
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Asbestos siding on house and garage |
After attending the MREA Fair and talking with an expert we have decided to leave the asbestos siding on. We were told the process for making this type of siding was environmentally friendly and a low risk for problems especially if sealed with paint. We will certainly do more research about this, but for now it stays. |
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Substantially leaky roof |
Confirmed! This is on our list for this summer. A family member is donating the materials and his expertise as a wedding gift. We are watching for shingles at Craig's list, the ReStore and Free Cycling. For fun, we told him any color of shingle and we'll paint the house to coordinate! |
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Inadequately built porch |
It remains so. We did, however, add a railing as required by our insurance company. In conjunction with the new roof we will be adding on a sunroom with adequate thermal mass for passive solar heating of our large living room. The materials and labor were donated as wedding gifts again. Lucky us! |
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Cloth-insulated electrical wiring (an unexpected surprise) |
We are replacing the wiring based on the amount of usage for outlets and lights. We have completed the bathroom and kitchen, but still have some to do in the other downstairs rooms. |
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"Absorbent" basement |
Turned out not to be an issue. The trench around the inside of the basement wall drains any moisture away. Once the roof is on, we plan to do some landscaping which is the first step to preventing leaky basements. |
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Leaning barn |
Still leaning. If we have time this summer we will begin working on this. |
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Updating and decorating to express our personalities and meet our needs |
Lots of new color and eclectic stuff we keep just in case we find a good use for it. Throw it away? Never! |
Further Reading:
Another great report on your housing project - always fantastic to see your efforts - brilliant work!
Written in July 2008